The Fire Sign
by StealerOfDreams
Summary: Manticore had never had a problem with the clones of the 09 escapees. Until Now. Post Freak Nation. [Oneshot, Stand Alone]


_**A/N: Italics represent the past, naturally. Yeah, I'm aware that this makes no scientific sense, but it's fiction. I can dream. Thanks for reading. **_

_**Disclaimer: Dark Angel belongs solely to those who have patented it, whoever they might be. Now I just have to wait for that patent to expire, then its free reign for us half-assed writers!**_

_**Credit: The song used in this fiction is Themata, by Karnivool. Yes, I wanted to be the first DA write to not use Matchbox 20 or Incubus lyrics.**_

**Caution: Read at your own risk. Following fic is completely un-betaed.**

**Fire Sign  
Dark Angel**

"What a week." Alec sighed to himself, although not quite alone in the room where he had taken up residency.

"You're telling me," Max replied, plonking herself down in the chair next to him, not quite touching.

**_Step in this room where I wanna be  
Surely you mean this something  
You're bringing me down to a silent breath  
when it's the truth that I wanna see_**

_Alec had been organising some newly arrived X6s in the main hall of Terminal City when Steve burst through the door holding an unconscious Sam. Accepting the seriousness of the situation without pausing to ask stupid questions, he quickly strode towards them and yelled for one for one of the emergency medical team members. _

They arrived not two minutes later, along with Max, and if they had felt at all surprised at seeing the clone of their 'leader,' they didn't show it. Inquiring with the seemingly panic-stricken man, they had not being able to make heads or tails of what he was babbling. They quickly worked on moving her to the infirmary to stabilise her condition, while Max stayed behind to sooth the distraught man.

_**Search myself for the reason  
The ever loving greed  
I am put off slightly  
So what am I to see… Oh my love  
in the sensory serenity**_

Manticore had never had a problem with the clones of the 09 escapees. 494 and 453 were some of the best and brightest that they had ever produced, but the fear that the renegade gene had been passed on in the cloning process was too great. So Manticore took precautions.

_**So pull the pin inside  
Baby let it ride  
Never knowing' I'm the next to see  
With the fire sign  
Never make it mine  
Never knowing' I'm the next to be**  
_

_Sam, just having celebrated her 25th year alive, had seemingly collapsed and no Ordinary doctor her husband Steve had found had seemed to find a problem with her. But if you knew what to look for, then any transgenic would have been able to tell you after glancing at a simple scan._

_The kill switch that Manticore had encoded in her DNA had become active._

_Fearing a mutiny from their prized million dollar soldiers, Manticore had gone ahead with the chronologically affected gene, sequenced to turn on and start shutting down all her most important major organs at a set age._

_**I am learning slowly  
So what am I to see  
Every twist and turning  
Through my hypocrisy**_

"I'm glad Sam's alright." Max whispered, her voice sounding young and innocent. The events of the past few weeks catching up and causing emotional turmoil.

"Thanks to you." Alec said, reassuringly.

"Your method," she smiled. "I just supplied the materials."

_**It's so good to see  
This world is alive  
It's so good to see  
This world is a lie**_

_With her organs ostensibly shutting down, they had to act fast if they wanted to save Sam's life. Max had been surprised when Alec had announced his idea._

_Seeing as Sam was Max's clone, they should have identical DNA. Excluding the perfect no junk DNA of Max's double helix, of course. _

_So the medical team of terminal city had taken bone biopsies of both the X5s, and set about figuring out what was wrong with Sam's DNA, and whether they could fix it with the help of Max's. _

_And they had. The analysis taken from Max's DNA had allowed Sam to be saved. She could go back with her husband, and back to their little boy._

_**Like a knot it binds, suffocating minds  
Never knowing, I'm in the next to see  
With the fire sign  
Never make it mine  
Never knowing' I'm the next to bleed**_

_After the months had rolled by, no one had really payed much thought that another transgenic could have been given the kill switch._

_So when Alec collapsed out of the blue, it took Max awhile to realise why._

_**I am learning slowly  
So what am I to see  
Every twist and turning  
Through my hypocrisy  
Search myself for the reason  
Forever loving greed  
I am bored of silence  
So what am I to see?**_

A quiet knock at the door broke Max out of her thoughts. She got up to answer the door to Alec's apartment, where she had been spending a lot of her time lately. It was a good place to talk to Alec, which she had also been doing a lot lately.

She unlocked the dead bolted door to see Joshua standing outside shuffling his feet.

"Hey little fella," he said, pulling her into a welcoming hug.

"Hey big fella." She replied hugging him back.

"Came to see how Max doing." His tone questioning.

"I'm good, Josh." Although she could tell he didn't quite believe her, the smile not quite reaching his eyes.

"Time for Max to come out?" He asked, somewhat hopefully. "Can't stay here alone forever."

"Try me." She smiled sincerely, but knowing what he said was true. Staying here wasn't going to turn back the clock or rewind anything that had happened.

"Just wait a minute."

Joshua's mood seemingly brightened as he waited in the hall while she went to collect her jacket.

On her way out, she paused, and placed a letter she had received on the table. Knowing that she already remembered every single word it sad.

Alec smiled at her, and she knew she wouldn't be seeing him again.

Looking around once again, she smiled and closed the door to the empty apartment on the way out.

_**Lie awake, still, as I try to breathe  
Surely you mean this is something  
You're bringing me down to a silent breath  
and it's the truth that I wanna see**_

_I can't believe I'm doing this. I've always hated letters. But I feel that's the only way I can tell you everything before the inevitable. _

_And when it happens, you might hate me for not fighting hard enough. But just know I tried. And don't think too badly of me, after all, it's in the genes. Literally._

_And you see, Max? I'm not like a sponge. I don't just soak up all that crap you say, that I'm a screw up. But neither does it just roll off my back._

_Sometimes I wish that what you said didn't affect me so much. But it does, I guess, because I know it's the truth._

_I've always known I've been a screw up, I know I'm an idiot; I know I'm a burden. Even though I'm smarter than an ordinary and heck, I'm probably smarter then most transgenics. But it's the choices we make that define us. And Heaven knows I've made plenty of bad ones._

_Did I tell you I was a CO? Probably not. Manticore's best and brightest, yeap, that's me. You probably don't believe that one, but go ahead, ask any transgenic in TC. They'll probably tell you._

_And yeah, I took my unit on outside missions. Plenty of times. We had the highest success rate in the field, and we were possibly closer than you and siblings, Max. And I know you won't believe that one either._

_But they aren't around anymore, and I won't tell you why. I guess you could go ask another X5, I think it was pretty common knowledge what happened to Unit 8 back in Manticore. I guess there is always hope, I mean, I thought Biggs was gone. But he showed up. So if you ever do find any of them, tell them I say hi. _

_And, I just wanted to say I was sorry again. Sorry for ruining your chance with Logan. But I don't regret it, not really. I never believed he deserved you. But then again, no one really does. It broke my heart when you gave up your chance with him to save me._

_Don't feel mad when I say this, I don't have a death wish or anything. But maybe you should've let me die back then. Let the micro-explosive kill me. No one would have held you responsible. Hell, Logan would've probably thrown a party. No one would have blamed you._

_Except yourself._

_**So pull the pin inside  
Baby let it ride  
Never knowing' I'm the next to see  
With the fire sign  
Never make it mine  
Never knowing' I'm the next to be**_

_You always seemed to blame yourself for things. That is, if I wasn't there. And it was the same with me. If anything went wrong on a mission back at oh faithful Manticore, it'd be my fault. I still don't deny it was, but others might tell you different. _

_Maybe that's why I hung around so much, when you were there I didn't need to blame myself. Didn't need to tell myself it was my fault. Because you were there to do that for me._

_And that might seem like a horrible thing to say, but the reason I'm telling you all this is because I need you to know. _

_I need you to know, this isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for this. It's all on Manticore this time._

_And yeah, I've known for a long time that one day I wasn't going to wake up. Except I was kind of expecting it to be in a blaze of glory, you know. Fighting for the little guy, in battle. In war. In a fight, at the least. But I guess things don't always turn out the way you think._

_Well, I am dying in a fight. But it's a fight for my life._

_I mean, how ironic is it that a transgenic; that is supposed to be the perfect genetically engineered soldier, is taken down by his own genes?_

_But I can live with that. Or I can die with it. Whatever. And you can live with it too, Max. _

_The DNA Sam took from you may have saved her, but that isn't going to work this time. No Ben around to save me, Max. But I'm not giving up the fight, I'll always fight. For me and for you._

_I always knew I was going to not wake up one day; but I just guess it wasn't going to be so soon. I mean I never was expecting to live a long time. The white picket fence, the American dream. All that crap that Ordinaries look for._

_But I hope one day you'll have that, Max. _

_So I'm telling you; fight for the transgenics. Finish this war, and however corny it sounds; I've always got your back._

_I'm not really expecting you to do the daytime soap thing and cry all over this, but just know. Know that you were a good friend to me, Max, even if it wasn't mutual._

_I never was one for goodbyes, but then again, these last few days I've discovered a few things about myself that I never knew._

_Goodbye Max. It's my time, I guess, and I'll see you around. Even if you don't see me._

_Alec._

_**Like a knot it binds, suffocating minds  
Never knowing, I'm in the next to see  
With the fire sign  
Never make it mine  
Never knowing' I'm the next to bleed**_

_Max left the infirmary, tears coursing down her cheeks as she almost heard his silent farewell, before the flat line of machinery blocked out all sounds except the clatter of the medical team unsuccessfully trying to revive her fallen friend._

_**In the sensory, serenity  
how could it be, that I'm the next to see?  
Could it be, that I'm in ecstasy? **_

It's so good to see  
This world is alive  
It's so good to see  
This world isn't mine

It's so good to see  
This world I'm in loves me…


End file.
